IBM’s Apptio launches new cloud cost management tools for AI era

BELLEVUE, Wash. - IBM’s Apptio unveiled new financial operations (FinOps) solutions on Monday aimed at helping enterprises manage escalating cloud costs in AI-driven environments. The tech giant, currently trading near its 52-week high with a market capitalization of $287.35 billion, continues to expand its cloud services portfolio as part of its growth strategy.

The company introduced Cloudability Governance and Kubecost 3.0, two platforms designed to provide organizations with improved visibility and control over their cloud spending as AI adoption accelerates.

Cloudability Governance, now integrated with HashiCorp Terraform, enables FinOps teams to monitor cost compliance and apply organizational policies within engineering workflows. The solution provides cost estimates and financial guardrails before infrastructure deployment, helping teams make budget-aligned decisions.

"Our customers want accurate, real-time visibility into the cost implications of the infrastructure they manage and deploy with HashiCorp Terraform," said Armon Dadgar, CTO and co-founder of HashiCorp, an IBM company.

Kubecost 3.0, which is generally available now, offers enhanced tools for unified resource management across Kubernetes clusters, advanced savings recommendations, and improved scalability features. The platform includes automated container right-sizing and GPU monitoring capabilities designed for complex cloud environments.

The timing aligns with growing enterprise investment in AI infrastructure, which IDC estimates will reach $571 billion globally in 2026. According to an Apptio study, 55% of business leaders report lacking sufficient information to evaluate technology spending effectively.

"Generative AI is not only pushing the limits of cloud infrastructure; it’s challenging the ability of technology and business leaders to make informed decisions and evaluate tech spend ROI," said Eugene Khvostov, Chief Product Officer at Apptio.

Cloudability Governance integration with HashiCorp Cloud Platform and Terraform Enterprise is currently available in public preview. The company will demonstrate both solutions at the annual TBM Conference and KubeCon North America.

The announcement was made in a press release statement from Apptio, which IBM acquired as part of its expanding cloud services portfolio.

In other recent news, International Business Machines (IBM) has reported its third-quarter earnings for 2025, exceeding Wall Street expectations. The company announced an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.65, which was higher than the forecasted $2.44. Additionally, IBM reported revenue figures of $16.33 billion, surpassing the anticipated $16.09 billion. These results represent an 8.61% surprise in earnings performance. Following the earnings announcement, IBM’s stock experienced a rise in after-hours trading. These developments highlight IBM’s ability to outperform market predictions. Investors will likely take note of these positive financial results as they assess IBM’s performance.

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